You’ve heard it all before. Based on a true story. Ripped from the headlines. There are a lot of television shows/novels/films that claim that their stories are actual depictions of real life events. But are they? How much truth is… Read More ›
stories
Different Types of Conflict
Last week, I had written a summary of the second act of a story because we were entering into the middle of the year. For those that hadn’t read it (shame, shame, shame), the second act is the middle of… Read More ›
Stuck in the middle with you
As we enter the middle of the year, I thought it would be interesting to examine the middle of a story. For those that don’t know, most stories are split up into a three act structure. The first act serves… Read More ›
Hopefully reading
Ever since the coronavirus officially entered Indiana, the state I live in, I’ve been reading books that had a post-apocalyptic and/or world spreading virus theme. For instance, I’m a little under 200 pages left in Stephen King’s “The Stand.” At… Read More ›
Books make the best gifts
Okay, so maybe books don’t make the best gifts. I’ll admit that I’d rather be given a Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ over a Stephen King book. One exception to that if the Stephen King book was a first edition signed… Read More ›
If You’ve Never Watched Horror
So, I have a lot of people tell me that they don’t like watching Horror films because they have too much violence/gore/swearing/jump scares/takes place in Michigan or some variety of other reasons. Or maybe you have a rule about not… Read More ›
Happily ever after…
Guilty pleasures. We all have them, even if we don’t want to admit it. I mean, that’s sort of the point of guilty pleasures. One of mine is watching movies with really sad endings. Like, if you don’t tear up… Read More ›
Story and Plot, part two
In last week’s MtC (that’s the working abbreviation for Mastering the Craft, just trying it out), I talked about the interwoven relationship between story and plot and how you can’t have one without the other. Sorta like that theme song… Read More ›
At a loss for words…
Right now, I’m laying in a hotel bed typing this column on my iPhone. That’s one of the magical things about writing. Writers are sort of like time travelers. I’m communicating with the future. Originally, I had a column about… Read More ›
My newest book release and following your gift
On Saturday, Feb. 2, my third book is being released by Burning Willow Press, LLC (BWP). They are a phenomenal company that cares about the quality of the books they publish. It can be purchased at a variety of places,… Read More ›
